Farfelle Alfredo with Chicken

Alfredo sauce is a world famous Italian sauce – for its wonderful flavor as much as its calorie rich ingredients! Butter, Cream and Parmesan Cheese. Well I’m not going to apologize that this post has nothing to offer for a person on a diet. But I will throw in a variation to make this recipe slightly less rich… ahem ahem. I have also used chicken but feel free to jump on the calorie bandwagon by substituting bacon. Fine, fine I really am not trying to fatten up the whole world, but being blissfully content for one night is not such a sin!

Farfelle Alfredo with Chicken

What you need:

2 skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp crushed garlic (optional for sauteing chicken)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup grated Parmesan
400 gms Farfelle Pasta
Salt to your taste
a little ground black pepper
a pinch of sugar
dash of nutmeg

What to Do:

The key to this recipe is keeping everything you need at hand, because you need to toss it all in at the right time and serve! So lets split it into three parts shall we. One – Pasta. Two – Alfredo Sauce. Three – Chicken. Let’s start with boiling the pasta. Just follow the instructions on the packet and you should be fine. Sprinkle some sea salt into the pot for to bring out the taste. While the pasta is boiling, lets prepare the chicken. Saute the chicken with garlic in the olive oil, till the juices run clear. Keep aside. Finally the Alfredo Sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan (enough to hold the pasta and chicken at the end). Make sure the heat is very low. To avoid the cream from curdling, if it boils. Now slowly add ¾ of the cream and stir till it has reduced slightly. Now add the parmesan cheese and stir till it has melted into the cream. Toss in the chicken and the remaining cream. Add seasoning, a pinch of sugar and nutmeg. Finally add the cooked farfelle and 2 Tbsp of the reserved cooking water. Fold till all the ingredients are one happy dish. Serve hot!

P.S. Reheating this dish in the microwave really does not do any justice. I would suggest preparing the sauce just before serving.

Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce

So here’s THE sauce that I was talking about. It’s pretty much a fail safe recipe and so much more flavorful and satisfying than the store bought varieties. Also when there is an overload of tomatoes in the market which you bought home just because they looked “so nice and juicy”, I suggest putting them to good use in this recipe. This sauce recipe can be used in so many dishes that it’s great to have around. And it’s perfectly healthy!!!


Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce

What you need:
1 kg Tomatoes (pureed)
500 gms Blanched Tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 Large Onion, minced
6 cloves
1 teaspoons basil
1 Tbsp Rock salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

What to do:
In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Squash the blanched tomatoes with your hands in a bowl and toss into the pot. Saute for a 3-5 mins. Now add the puree. Season with the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20-30 mins. Check seasoning. Mamma Mia!

Aubergine Parmesana – fit for Royalty

Aubergines/ Eggplants are not the co-resident’s favorite vegetable. Forget favorite, it does not even feature in an “I like” list. So when I suggested I was going to make Aubergine Parmesana, the response was a turned up nose and a resigned sigh. Not an encouraging start! When I started frying the aubergine, there was a grunt of approval and finally when the dish popped out of the oven, he ate more than me. So I’ve copied this recipe to help you convert others, after all who can hate a vegetable which is the color of royalty – purple!


Aubergine Parmesana

What you need:
1 large/ 2 small Aubergines/ Eggplants
2 Med Eggs
Flour for dusting
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for frying
2 cups Italian Tomato Sauce (Store/ Home made)
2 Garlic cloves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
A few leaves of fresh Basil/ 2 Tbsp dried Basil
150 gms Mozzarella cheese (grated)
½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Start by salting and pressing the eggplant (aubergine). You need to do this several hours before you start the main part of the preparation. Cut the eggplant into ¼-inch slices, and arrange these on a large plate. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Place another plate on top, and then place something heavy on top of that. When you are ready to start cooking, wash the eggplant thoroughly and dry with a paper towel. Coat each slice with a little flour, dip in the beaten egg mixture (season with salt and pepper), and deep fry for a few minutes in the heated olive oil. Drain on paper towels.

Heat a tsp of oil and sauté the bruised Garlic cloves and red pepper flakes. Add the tomato sauce and heat through. Mix in the Basil. Keep aside.

Grease a medium baking pan with cooking spray. Put enough of the tomato sauce to coat pan. Next layer eggplant slices, a little bit of both cheeses and a little more tomato sauce. Repeat layers ending with a topping of both cheeses. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes Cook removing the lid about ten minutes before serving. Let it cool for 15 mins before serving.

P.S. Look out for my Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce recipe in my next post.